Subject: Re: Yakihma Firing Range
Date: Aug 18 09:59:18 1997
From: Don Baccus - dhogaza at pacifier.com


At 10:15 AM 8/18/97 -0600, you wrote:
>Can anyone tell me who I'd need to contact regarding a trip onto the range
>to see the Sage Grouse. Also, is it likely that the Grouse would be found,
>if we had permission to be on the range, if the trip was made in early June.

By June, they'll be nesting. However, the population I'm familiar with (on
Steens Mountain in Harney County, OR) tends to nest fairly near leks and the
males sort of hang out in the area. They are, though, hard to find and the
females are *very* sensitive to disturbance on the nest. The biologists I
hung out with earlier this summer said that past experience makes them, at
least, believe that sagehen will abandon nests if flushed, at least early
on after laying.

Early April to mid May is the displaying season, with the peak right around
that All-American event, Tax Day (i.e. the middle of April). I manage to get
out to see sage grouse about every other year just after mailing out my taxes,
sort of a reward for being good.


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net